Arsenal

It’s hard to judge the Emery project until we’ve seen what he can do in a transfer window or two – and there’s an obvious area for him to address. The wing/full-back role has become such a demanding one these days that top sides need to be able to rotate a minimum of four quality options. With ours dropping like flies, we badly need some new blood in that position. Unfortunately, though, any plans to address it this winter might be derailed by the need to provide cover for the injured Welbeck and Holding. The other factor to watch is whether or not the futures of Özil and Ramsey become any clearer. Bernard Azulay, GoonersDiary.co.uk@GoonerN5

Bournemouth

We need another right-back to cover for injuries to Simon Francis and Adam Smith, and a central midfielder to replace Lewis Cook, who ruptured an ACL. Stoke’s Joe Allen, Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Celtic’s Callum MacGregor could all be neat fits for us. And we tried to sign Chris Mepham from Brentford last summer, so there is a good possibility that we might try for him again in an effort to improve the options in the centre of defence. Peter Bell, afcbchimes.blogspot.co.uk

Brighton

We genuinely don’t need anyone. Chris Hughton’s summer business was spot-on: the new arrivals have settled and are starting to deliver on a consistent basis. There’s good strength in depth. We may need to spend if anyone leaves, though – rumours about Liverpool wanting Pascal Gross are very unwelcome. Steph Fincham, Observer reader

Burnley

There’s definitely work to do in January. It’s not hard to see what our biggest problem is: we can’t stop conceding. To help address that I’d like to see us prioritise a good, strong central midfielder to firm things up. We could do with creative reinforcements as well, though: a wide player would make a difference and we could maybe add a striker too, given that the one we signed in the summer, Matej Vydra, isn’t getting much of a look-in. As always, it’s important to target the right characters – people who will fit the club’s ethos. Tony Scholes, UpTheClarets.com@UTCdotcom

Cardiff

I’d love a new striker: not a lower-league gamble but a proven Premier League forward. We were linked with Troy Deeney last summer, and I’d take him in January if he was made available. He could make all the difference: we have a reasonable attacking threat when we’re on top in games but that bit of extra quality is what we really need. Likewise, we could do with some more talent at the back. We have likable, hard‑working defenders but there are still far too many mistakes. Michael Morris, CardiffCity-mad.co.uk

Could Watford’s Troy Deeney make all the difference for Cardiff? Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

Chelsea

The obvious gap – and it’s been obvious for some time now – is up top. We need a dependable, top-class striker. Giroud definitely has great link-up play with Hazard, holds the ball up and creates space for others, but he does seem more effective coming off the bench. It’s high time for a new Didier Drogba, or even a new Diego Costa. Someone who can create something out of nothing when there doesn’t seem to be a way through. Mauro Icardi seems to be touted most often – he’s a proven goalscorer, though he does come with a lot of baggage, mostly in the form of his agent/wife Wanda. Paulo Dybala looks a much better option to me but it’s unlikely that Juventus would let him go. Trizia Fiorellino, ChelseaSupportersGroup.net

Crystal Palace

We’ve got a pretty simple wish list for January: someone who can score goals. It’s as simple as that. Though Connor Wickham is back fit and featured against Cardiff, and Christian Benteke is back in training after a long layoff, neither is prolific. And Ayew and Sorloth as back-ups are just not good enough. We’ve been heavily linked with Michy Batshuayi and Dominic Solanke; Roy is apparently keener on the latter and that makes sense given the positive impact he had on another young English prospect, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, last season. It would be wonderful to have RLC back on loan but the odds are slim. Chris Waters, PalaceTrust.org.uk@Clapham_Grand

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Everton

Marco Silva has transformed the playing style – now he can continue transforming the shape of the squad, alongside Marcel Brands. Hopefully the days of us signing a stopgap striker for a couple of seasons are over: we need some proper planning and some long‑term thinking. Signing a young player such as Leipzig’s talented Jean-Kévin Augustin would be exciting – and if there’s a chance of taking André Gomes from Barcelona on a permanent basis, we should jump at it. Steve Jones, @BlueKippercom

Fulham

It’s not rocket science: we need players fit and able to play Premier League football, rather than those with fantastic stats who need time to adjust. Will Ranieri have any say in the matter? Until recently we’ve been leaking goals for fun, so a solid, cohesive defensive unit is imperative – Gary Cahill’s been mentioned. We also badly need more leaders in general, players with real heart and commitment. We secured promotion with such a truly concerted, united team effort. How’s all that been allowed to dissipate? David Lloyd, Toofif.co.uk

Huddersfield

What do we need? A striker. Any striker who is capable of hitting the target from 10 yards. Seriously anyone will do. Jordan Rhodes would be my pick – he was a legend with us at League One level and has never got the chance in the Premier League. His all-round game might not be amazing but he has that ability to score from any situation. John McNamara,TerrierBlog.co.uk@TerrierBlog

Leicester

If Claude Puel wants to last long-term, he’ll have to commit to abandoning his brand of football, as he did over Christmas, and accept that the squad needs new faces. It’s obvious that investment is needed. The squad is crying out for a new striker and a creative midfielder. Callum Wilson would be an ambitious and expensive punt – he’d take a lot of prising away from Bournemouth but he’d come with a proven record at this level. There’s also a sizeable appetite among fans for the club to try to re-sign our former creator-in-chief Danny Drinkwater from Chelsea – but there’s also no reason why, with the likes of Newcastle poking around, we shouldn’t go in for Ruben Loftus-Cheek instead, who would almost certainly be an upgrade. Chris Whiting, @ChrisRWhiting

There is an appetite among Leicester fans for the club to re-sign Danny Drinkwater from Chelsea. Photograph: Nigel French/PA

Liverpool

We have Oxlade-Chamberlain to come back and Lallana regaining full fitness – so do we really need to be spending money in January? Klopp did our business in summer. There’s always an argument to add options, of course, so maybe cover for left-back would be handy? There’s also some talk that we could do with a classic No 10, someone like Dybala at Juventus. I’m not sure, though – would our high-tempo pressing style really suit him? Steph Jones, Observer reader

Manchester City

It looks like a quiet month for us. Pep Guardiola has already said as much – but if we are in the market for anybody, then it should be a replacement for Fernandinho. I use the word “replacement” loosely – I think we’ll struggle to replace him like-for-like given his unique qualities. My preferred option as things stand would probably be Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombélé, who definitely has the physicality to succeed in England but more importantly looks to have the technical quality and the mentality to play in a Guardiola midfield. Lloyd Scragg, @lloyd_scragg

Manchester United

Where do you start? We need to ship out a load of bang-average players first. Too many are just stealing a living. Above all we need to find some real, honest leaders: authority figures who can sort out players who seem more interested in their social media status than their performances. We should have broken the bank for Verratti, a strong, combative figure who controls games. Alderweireld should have been signed in the summer when Mourinho was crying out for a ball‑playing centre-half. I hope talk about N’Golo Kanté comes to something, and Declan Rice is one for the future – so let’s try now. Shaun O’Donnell, Observer reader

Newcastle

If Mike Ashley sells up quickly to rich, success-hungry investors, then we could set about prising proven players away from their clubs. That seems unlikely, though, so Rafa will need to lean on all of his contacts and powers of persuasion to bolster a squad which needs strengthening in most areas. We have no effective back up to Paul Dummett and DeAndre Yedlin at full-back, and a predatory goalscorer is on the wish list, too. Perhaps most importantly, we’re in need of a central midfielder in the Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton mould – someone who can grab hold of a game and drive the team forward when all seems lost. Richard & David Holmes, Observer readers

Southampton

Until we know which of our players are going to be able (or willing) to cope with the new manager’s high-intensity gameplan, it’s hard to know what the spending priorities are. Defensively we still look fairly weak but perhaps the issues can be coached out of the players, who don’t seem to have had any individual coaching for some time. And despite three goals against Arsenal, we still look a bit shy of goals if Ings is not available, so a Shane Long equivalent who can actually score might be high up the list. Certainly a bit more pace would be welcome – though given the amount the club has paid in sacked-manager compensation in the last two years or so (potentially up to £30m including all the backroom staff), we might be forced to look to the academy and under-23s for that. Steve Grant, SaintsWeb.co.uk@SteveGrant1983

Tottenham

Spurs don’t really do signings these days. OK, so a youthful back-up to Harry Kane would be nice, perhaps someone to bolster the midfield with Mousa Dembélé on the wane (we’ve been linked with Tanguy Ndombélé of Lyon, for instance). But we’ve got that stadium to pay for, so until the summer at least we’ll probably have to be content with keeping what we’ve got and trusting in the homegrown youth – a cheeky dual bid for Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba notwithstanding. Richard Barnes, Observer reader

Watford

The volume of transfer activity may hinge on PSG’s willingness to stump up £45m for Doucouré. Fortunately he signed a five-year contract in the summer and, much as he’s a star, we’re well stocked in central midfield. That aside, our forwards all have valuable attributes, but scoring a shedload isn’t a skillset we’ve got covered. It’s difficult not to reflect on the summer rumours linking us to Paco Alcácer who has been pulling up trees for his new side Dortmund. But frankly I would take whoever is top the club’s wanted list – their judgment is better than mine. Matt Rowson, BHappy.wordpress.com

West Ham

Left-back is still a problem: Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell are good going forward but struggle defensively. We also need a long-term replacement for Pablo Zabaleta and could do with another midfielder. Ruben Loftus-Cheek might be a good loan, and I quite like the look of Watford’s Doucouré and Huddersfield’s Philip Billing, while Nasri, if he proves fit and legit, could provide more imagination. Another priority for next month: keeping hold of Marko Arnautovic. Pete May, HammersInTheHeart.blogspot.co.uk

Wolves

We’ve underperformed in the final third, so it would make sense to target an attacking player to support Raúl Jiménez and Diogo Jota. Shoya Nakajima is one name linked from Portimonense. Elsewhere the recent injury to Jonny revealed a potential lack of depth at wing-back. Otherwise we’re well covered after a very good summer of transfers, so I expect it to be relatively quiet while clubs with more needs scramble. Louie Silvani, ThroughTheThirds.blogspot.com